Lunar triple treat: supermoons, a blue moon and an eclipse

The universe ushers in 2018 with an overflow of lunar delight, including two supermoons, a rare blue moon and a total lunar eclipse.

On New Year’s Day, the closest full moon of the year and the closest lunar perigee of 2018 will swing by Earth making January’s first full moon a supermoon in the strictest sense of the definition.

Supermoon’s are defined as moons that are full when they are also at or near their closest point in orbit around Earth, called perigee. NASA is counting the Dec. 3 full moon, the Jan. 1 full moon and the Jan. 31 full moon as supermoons.

But the New Year’s Day full moon is the closest to Earth for all of 2018.

Supermoons can appear 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than full moons that occur near apogee – the furthest from Earth.

“The supermoons are a great opportunity for people to start looking at the Moon, not just that once but every chance they have,” said Noah Petro, a research scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in a lunar blog.

The full moon sets among the pine trees alongside the Beeline Highway Thursday morning July 2, 2015 . This is the first of two full moons this month; the next one is July 31. (Lannis Waters / The Palm Beach Post)

The term supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle as a way to define a moon that is at 90 percent or more of its closest approach to Earth. But since then, others, including astronomers, have picked up on the catchy nickname and brought their own definitions to the table.

That’s why, depending on the source, there could be between four and six supermoons on average a year.

The Jan. 1 full moon will become precisely full at 9:24 p.m. EST, but will rise over the eastern horizon in South Florida at 5:31 p.m.

Because the Jan. 31 full moon, which will rise at 6:25 p.m., is the second full moon of the month, it is called a blue moon – a moniker one folklorist said is akin to saying something will never happen. Blue moons happen about once every 2.7 years.

The glow of sunrise warms the setting full moon behind the steeple of Family Church on Flagler Drive Thursday morning, May 11, 2017. (Lannis Waters @lvw839/The Palm Beach Post)

But the January blue moon will offer something extra special. It will also experience a total lunar eclipse that will be seen fully in western North America across the pacific to Eastern Asia.

Areas in the eastern U.S., including Florida, can catch the partial lunar eclipse very early in the morning before it sets in the west.

A full moon occurs when the moon is opposite the sun. Total lunar eclipses occur when a full moon lines up perfectly with the Earth and Sun so that Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light from reflecting off the moon.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching a full moon. Courtesy NASA

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About the Author

Kim Miller is the weather reporter for The Palm Beach Post.

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